Over 45s 2013-14

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Tuesday 16th September 2014

Tonight saw the rescheduled/postponed veteran’s finals clash between Russell Baker and James Wadley. In the 4 months since the originally scheduled fixture James had planned and executed a 900mile cross-Europe cycle ride. Not to be outdone, Russell had been to Holland for some hill work. Additionally, both claimed the final had been their last thought at night and the first thought each morning. This is the commitment we like from our athletes.

On paper this was always going to be a close contest and proved so; the first game took 15 minutes with the serve switching between players, neither able to capitalise on a string of winning rallies. But Russell worked James hard who – despite his fitness – made a few unforced errors and Russell took the 1st. As the match progressed, James looked sharper and sharper with seemingly no shot out of reach. But steadily Russell was taking control and dominating rallies from the 'T'. As James tried harder he made a few more errors and Russell took the 2nd. This trend continued with Russell dominating the 3rd and taking the 2013/14 title.

Well done both. Afterwards Russell asserted his aspirations to reclaim the o35 cup too. He was advised to sit down and rest because he was probably feeling a little dizzy.

Friday 23rd May 2014

The last match, the Veterans, was to see Russell Baker pitted against James Wadley. But the game had to be rescheduled due to James' previously committed attendance at the North of England Morris Dancing and Onion Eating festival. Whilst we all wish him luck in that, beaten semi-finalists in the main draw, Dave Brierley and George Stanford closed the evening with a 3rd/4th play-off exhibition match. George was suffering a little from tonsillitis but still showed how much energy (and skill) he had. Dave was ruthless (again) at the beginning of the match, but a few boasts down were capitalised on by George who went on to win.

Thursday 8th May 2014

In addition just 2 Vets games were played; Dilip Chakrabarti played Nigel Sanders, and Ian Pierce played Tim Dickins. An anxious Dilip worked hard, twisting and turning Nigel as much as he could, and to good effect. Nigel was the most mobile he’d been since 1997, but it wasn’t quite enough to topple Dilip who will make a good charge now in the Vets competition. In the 2nd fixture, blink and you could have been transported back to 1985 as two former club junior stars, Tim and Ian, battled it out. It wasn’t just the spectators who were confused; Ian and Tim raced round the court like nimble lambs (quite forgetting this was the Vets where such efforts are heartily discouraged). Tim’s knees appeared to have given in to the fact they were being asked to work hard for the 3rd time in a week as he chased down Ian’s deadly drops and skid boasts. But it was Ian who remained on top, winning eventually 3-0 in a match whose score-line once again misrepresented the closeness of the match.